Around the NFL: Where do the great coaches come from?

AROUND THE NFL: What if somebody ranked the top 25 head coaches in the NFL? What if somebody then fit the rankings into the Browns’ head coaching search? Somebody did. And someone might conclude Chip Kelly would be a one-of-a-kind success story, if he makes it.

A series of failed head coaches and their sea of defeats has left Browns fans green-face sick.

Captain Jimmy Haslam embarks into 2013 with a fresh ship and an all-new map.

He is prepared to give the rudder to an old hand from Oregon who can only guess at how to navigate the high seas of, for him, uncharted waters.

Haslam must be looking at the man much moreso than the résumé. While Kelly’s offenses at Oregon impressed greatly, it is odd than an NFL head coach who is 49 years old would have been an assistant for the New Hampshire Wildcats as recently as 2006.

Where do the great NFL head coaches come from? Does Kelly fit any current example?

One way to answer is to identify where they are now.

Here is one man’s ranking of the 25 head coaches who were not thrown overboard last week, a quick look at what got the best of them his current job, and how each example might have been applied to Haslam’s considerations before he set his sights on Mr. Kelly.

1, Bill Belichick, Patriots

Job prep: He was 48 when Robert Kraft hired him in 2000. It was five years after Belichick’s five-year Browns run that was cataclysmic for Cleveland but priceless for Patriot purposes. Belichick put his many years of NFL life as an assistant and a failed chance as a head coach to remarkable use.

Browns application: Josh McDaniels, Belichick’s offensive coordinator, had a much shorter head coaching run in Denver than Belichick in Cleveland, and McDaniels is 12 years younger now than Belichick was in 2000. Their similar storylines, makeup and years together, though, project McDaniels as a brighter prospect than the Belichick-tree guys who have struggled.

2, Tom Coughlin, Jaguars

Job prep: He was 72-64 with Jacksonville’s start-up expansion team from 1995-2002, having been Boston College’s head coach for three years.

Browns application: Nick Saban, faintly on the radar until Kelly signs the parchment, is 61. Too old? Coughlin was 61 when he won his first Super Bowl and 65 when he did it again. Coughlin had some college experience and has won NFL championships. Saban has had some NFL experience and has won college championships.

3, Mike McCarthy, Packers

Job prep: He was an offensive coach with the Chiefs, Packers, Saints and 49ers from 1993-2005. He was 42 when the Packers hired him to replace Mike Sherman in 2006. The Browns considered him in 2005 before hiring Romeo Crennel.

Browns application: Bruce Arians is 18 years older now than McCarthy was in 2006, but Arians had a long background as an offensive coach prior to this year’s stunning performance as interim head coach of the Colts. Arians turned 60 in October.

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4, Mike Shanahan, Redskins

Job prep: He cut his teeth as a young head coach with the Raiders before winning Super Bowls as the top dog in Denver. He was available after getting fired and replaced by McDaniels.

Browns application: Ken Whisenhunt, 50, began playing in NFL offenses about the time Shanahan was coaching in them. Like Shanahan, Whisenhunt is a former offensive coordinator who was fired as head coach by a team he took to a Super Bowl. Jon Gruden, 49, also is of this ilk.

In terms of personality, Whisenhunt is so much like Bill Cowher that he comes off as a tough-guy defensive coach, even though his expertise is offense. He would be a strong fallback, albeit less popular, if the Kelly negotiation falls through.

5, John Fox, Broncos

Job prep: He entered the NFL in 1991 and was a defensive coach with the Steelers, Rams, Raiders and Giants before the Panthers hired him as head coach. He was 78-74 with Carolina from 2002-10, losing in a Super Bowl with Jake Delhomme at quarterback.

Browns application: Lovie Smith, at 54 three years younger than Fox, has not appeared on Cleveland’s radar. He was a veteran NFL defensive coach before working as head coach of the Bears from 2004 until Monday. He went to a Super Bowl with a lesser quarterback than Delhomme (Rex Grossman).

6, Jim Harbaugh, 49ers

Job prep: He was an NFL quarterback from 1987-2001, then the quarterbacks coach for the Raiders for three years. He spent seven years as a college head coach, first at San Diego, then at Stanford, before the 49ers hired him in 2011.

Browns application: Kelly. The similarity would be that Harbaugh’s overachieving at Stanford opened his door, while Kelly’s fireworks at Oregon have done the same thing. The difference would be that Harbaugh spent more than a decade as an NFL quarterback. Kelly hasn’t worked in the NFL, although he has hung out with Belichick.

For what it’s worth, Kelly was born Thanksgiving week in 1963. Harbaugh was born Christmas week in 1963.

7, Sean Payton, Saints

Job prep: He was a record-setting quarterback at Eastern Illinois before making a few college coaching stops, the last at Miami of Ohio. He was an offensive coach for the Eagles, Giants and Cowboys before New Orleans made him head coach in 2006. The 2012 Saints were lost without him.

Browns application: Arians, acknowledging the age factor. Payton was in his early 40s when the Saints gave him a chance. Arians, 60, never got a shot until this year.

8, Jeff Fisher, Rams

Job prep: He played five years for the Bears, including on their 1985 title team, then was a defensive coach for the 49ers, Eagles and Rams before the Houston Oilers made him head coach in 1994 prior to their move to Nashville. Fisher was 147-126 while piloting the Oilers/Titans franchise, with a loss in a Super Bowl.

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Browns application: Lovie Smith.

9, Mike Tomlin, Steelers

Job prep: His first taste of the NFL came with the 2000 Browns as a coaching intern. He was a defensive backs coach with Gruden’s Buccaneers before spending one year with Brad Childress’ Vikings as defensive coordinator. He was 33 when the Steelers hired him as head coach in 2006.

Browns parallel: None we can think of.

10, Pete Carroll, Seahawks

Job prep: He was a college safety who soon broke into the college coaching ranks and by 1979 was working for Earle Bruce at Ohio State, at age 28. He was 33 when he got his first NFL job, with the Bills, but had to wait until he was 42 to get the Jets’ head coaching job. That lasted just a year, but he was back as head coach of the Patriots, who went 27-21 for him from 1997-99.

He lost his appetite for the NFL and retreated to the college ranks, where he was 97-19. His 2012 Seahawks worked wonders with rookie Russell Wilson.

Browns application: Saban.

We’ll close our discussion by finishing our rankings of head coaches who were not fired: